Introduction: Surgical patients need knowledge to participate in their own care and to engage in self-care behaviour in the perioperative period which is important for their recovery. Patient education facilitates such knowledge acquisition and several methods can be used to facilitate it, for example, face-to-face education and brochures or using information technology such as website or computer games. Healthcare professionals have been slow to seize the possibilities that information technology has to offer within the field, including the use of serious games. To optimise patient education, the information is needed on the patients’ needs and preferences and what they think about the idea of using a serious game to learn about self-care. Aim: The overall aims of this thesis were to describe the knowledge expectations of surgical patients, to describe how surgical patients want to learn, and to explore the potential use of serious games in patient education. Methods: This thesis includes four studies that used both quantitative and qualitative data to describe aspects of patient learning in relation to surgery. Study I has a prospective and comparative design with survey data collected before surgery and before hospital discharge from 290 patients with osteoarthritis undergoing knee arthroplasty. Data was collected on fulfilment of knowledge expectations and related factors. Study II is a cross-­‐sectional study in 104 patients with heart failure who had been scheduled for cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) device implantation. Data was collected on knowledge expectations and related factors. In Study III the perceptions of 13 surgical patients towards novel and traditional methods to learn about post-operative pain management are explored in a qualitative interview study using content analysis. Study IV describes the development and evaluation of a serious game to learn about pain management with the participation of 20 persons recruited from the public. The game was developed by an interdisciplinary team following a structured approach. Data on the efficacy and usability of the game was collected in one session with questionnaires, observations and interviews. Results: Participants reported high knowledge expectations. Knowledge expectations were highest within the bio-physiological knowledge dimension on disease, treatment and complications and the functional dimension on how daily activities are affected, both of which include items on self-care. Most participants wanted to know about the possible complications related to the surgery procedure. In none of the knowledge dimensions the expectations of participants were fulfilled. Participants received most knowledge on the physical and functional issues and received least on the financial and social aspects of their illness. The main predictor of fulfilment of knowledge expectations was having access to knowledge in the hospital from doctors and nurses. Trust in the information source and own motivation to learn shaped how the participants thought about different learning methods. Although the participants were open to using novel learning methods such as websites or games they were also doubtful about their use and called for advice by healthcare professionals. To develop a serious game with the goal to learn about pain management, theories of self-care and adult learning, evidence on the educational needs of patients about pain management and principles of gamification were found useful. The game character is a surgical patient just discharged home from hospital who needs to attend to daily activities while simultaneously managing post-operative pain with different strategies. Participants who evaluated a first version of the serious game improved their knowledge and described usability of the game as high. They were positive towards this new learning method and found it suitable for learning about pain management after surgery in spite of some technical obstacles. Conclusions: Surgical patients have high knowledge expectations about all aspects of their upcoming surgery and although they prefer direct communication with healthcare professionals as a source for knowledge they might be open to try using more novel methods such as games. Preliminary short-­‐term results demonstrate that a serious game can help individuals to learn about pain management, and has the potential to improve knowledge. A careful introduction, recommendation, and support from healthcare professionals is needed for implementation of such a novel method in patient education. / Fræðsla gerir sjúklingum betur kleift að taka þátt í umönnun sinni sem er mikilvægt fyrir bata eftir skurðaðgerð. Sjúklingafræðslu má veita með ýmsum aðferðum, til dæmis munnlega, með bæklingum eða með því að nota upplýsingatækni á formi vefsíðna eða kennslutölvuleikja. Heilbrigðisstarfsfólk hefur verið lengi að tileinka sér möguleika upplýsingatækninnar í sjúklingafræðslu, þar með talið notkun kennslutölvuleikja. Þörf er á meiri þekkingu um fræðsluþarfir skurðsjúklinga en jafnframt um viðhorf sjúklinga til nýrra námsaðferða. Kennslutölvuleikir eru ein leið sem gæti gagnast sjúklingum en notagildi þeirra hefur lítið verið rannsakað. Meginmarkmið þessarar ritgerðar var að lýsa væntingum skurðsjúklinga til fræðslu, lýsa því hvernig þeir vilja læra og að kanna möguleika kennslutölvuleikja í sjúklingafræðslu. Ritgerðin samanstendur af fjórum rannsóknargreinum. Notuð vorumegindleg og eigindleg rannsóknargögn til að lýsa ýmsum hliðum náms einstaklinga sem fara í skurðaðgerð. Rannsókn I er framsýn samanburðarrannsókn sem gerð var á 290 sjúklingum með slitgigt sem gengust undir hnéliðskipti. Gögnum var safnað með spurningalistum fyrir skurðaðgerð og fyrir útskrift af sjúkrahúsi um uppfyllingu væntinga til fræðslu og tengda þætti. Rannsókn II er þversniðsrannsókn með þátttöku 104 sjúklinga með hjartabilun sem voru á leið í aðgerð til að fá ígræddan sérstakan hjartagangráð (e. cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT)). Gögnum var safnað með spurningalistum, fyrir ígræðsluna, um væntingar til fræðslu og tengda þætti. Rannsókn III er eigindleg rannsókn með þátttöku 13 sjúklinga sem nýlega höfðu farið í liðskiptaaðgerð eða hjartaskurðaðgerð. Gögnum var safnað með viðtölum þar sem sjúklingar lýstu viðhorfum sínum til nýrra og hefðbundinna aðferða til að læra um verkjameðferð eftir  skurðaðgerð. Gögnin voru greind með innihaldsgreiningu. Rannsókn IV lýsir þróun og mati á kennslutölvuleik til að læra um verkjameðferð eftir skurðaðgerð, með þátttöku 20 sjálfboðaliða. Leikurinn var þróaður af þverfaglegum hópi hjúkrunarfræðinga og tölvunarfræðinga. Gagnsemi og notagildi leiksins voru metin með spurningalistum, áhorfi og viðtölum. Þátttakendur höfðu miklar væntingar til fræðslu. Væntingar voru mestar á sviði lífeðlisfræði um atriði er sneru að sjúkdómi, meðferð og fylgikvillum og á sviði færni um áhrif veikinda á daglegar athafnir. Bæði sviðin fela í sér atriði um sjálfsumönnun. Flestir þátttakendur vildu fá fræðslu um mögulega fylgikvilla skurðaðgerðar. Væntingar voru ekki uppfylltar á neinu þekkingarsviði þó best á sviði lífeðlisfræði og færni en síst er vörðuðu fjárhag og félagslegan stuðning í tengslum við veikindi. Væntingar voru best uppfylltar meðal þeirra sem höfðu góðan aðgang að fræðslu á spítalanum frá hjúkrunarfræðingum og læknum. Viðhorf þátttakenda til mismunandi námsaðferða mótaðist af trausti á fræðslumiðli og eigin áhugahvöt. Þátttakendur voru opnir fyrir notkun nýjunga á borð við vefsíður og kennslutölvuleiki en jafnframt nokkuð tortryggnir og töldu mikilvægt að fá ráðleggingar og aðstoð heilbrigðisstarfsfólks við slíka notkun. Kenningar um sjálfsumönnun og nám fullorðinna, aðferðir leikjahönnunar og tiltæk þekking á fræðsluþörfum sjúklinga um verkjameðferð voru notaðar til grundvallar við hönnun kennslutölvuleiksins. Persóna leiksins er nýlega útskrifuð af sjúkrahúsi eftir skurðaðgerð og þarf að sinna daglegum athöfnum jafnframt því að meðhöndla verki sína. Þátttakendur rannsóknarinnar sem lögðu mat á kennsluleikinn bættu þekkingu sína og töldu nothæfni leiksins mikla. Þeir voru jákvæðir gagnvart þessari nýju námsaðferð og fannst hún henta vel til að læra um verkjameðferð eftir skurðaðgerð þrátt fyrir nokkra  tæknilega örðugleika. Sjúklingar hafa miklar væntingar til fræðslu fyrir skurðaðgerð. Þeir kjósa helst að leita þekkingar hjá heilbrigðisstarfsfólki en eru þó opnir fyrir að prófa nýjungar eins og kennslutölvuleiki. Fyrstu niðurstöður sýndu að kennslutölvuleikur getur hjálpað einstaklingum að læra um verkjameðferð. Við innleiðingu nýjunga innan sjúklingafræðslu er vönduð kynning, meðmæli og stuðningur af hálfu heilbrigðisstarfsfólks mikilvægur fyrir viðtökur sjúklinga. / <p>The online version is a corrected version of the printed thesis. Download the errata list in order to see thecorrections.</p>

Background: Breastfeeding confers health and social benefits on both mother and baby and is thus a key global public health priority, with exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months recommended. A variety of factors can influence a woman’s decision to initiate breastfeeding but a short duration of breastfeeding appears to be common in developed countries. In the UK, promotion of breastfeeding has been government policy since 1974 and gradually the incidence has increased. In Scotland in 2010 the incidence was 74% but by one week 17% of women had given up. A minority of women find that their babies attach easily at birth and more than half report problems at this time. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding falls sharply in the first few weeks and the introduction of formula is associated with a shorter duration. It is therefore crucial to understand what happens at this time to enable women to continue breastfeeding effectively. Study Aim: To use Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to explore and help explain the expectations, knowledge and experiences of women and midwives with regard to breastfeeding initiation. Methods: A systematic review of qualitative studies synthesised using thematic analysis and SCT was conducted and afforded insight into what had been known before and highlighted further aspects that needed to be explored with a qualitative study. The qualitative study was comprised of five focus groups with ten antenatal women, eight postnatal women and eighteen midwives. Photographs included in a leaflet “Feeding cues at birth”, and the chart of “Feeding cues after the first few hours” were developed and used as focussing exercises during the focus groups and interviews. The focus groups and interviews were recorded, transcribed and analysed using a hybrid process of inductive and deductive thematic analysis which integrated data driven codes with theory driven codes based on SCT. Results: Twenty one studies were included in the systematic review and identified clear differences in the experiences of women when breastfeeding was going well as compared to when it was going wrong at the start. There were also differences in the midwives’ knowledge, experience and confidence when breastfeeding was going well in contrast to when it was going wrong. The synthesis did not identify any qualitative studies relevant to initiation which explored skin contact, instinctive behaviour or strategies to resolve failure to attach in the first few days after birth, from the perspectives of mothers and midwives. These topics were therefore explored in detail in the qualitative study. Few mothers recruited to my study experienced instinctive behaviour and successful attachment (in SCT enactive behaviour) at birth. The majority of mothers did not experience attachment at birth and struggled to persist and maintain their motivation to enable breastfeeding initiation in an unfamiliar environment. Midwives’ social expectations and environmental circumstances made women centred care difficult. Midwives considered that sleepy babies who were unable to feed were normal, but women were unprepared for this, compounding the difficulties in initiating breastfeeding. The triangulation of the findings from the systematic review and the qualitative study provide a more complete picture of contributory factors to understanding of difficulties in breastfeeding initiation. Conclusion: It is recognised that behaviour interacts with emotions, perceived abilities and the environment, as in triadic reciprocal causation, which affects peoples’ decisions, experiences and abilities to enable the successful initiation of breastfeeding. Social Cognitive Theory could be used as a framework to develop strategies and materials to enhance women’s confidence both antenatally and in the postnatal period. In a minority of women, breastfeeding goes well and is more likely when the baby is an active participant and the midwife a knowledgeable and confident supporter. This is not the case for the majority of women and babies or their midwives. There is a need to consider strategies to develop appropriate skills and environmental changes that would in turn lead to changes in behaviour and successful interventions. More emphasis should be made clinically on facilitating instinctive behaviour. The current position where babies’ sleepy behaviour is considered normal in this particular environment could be challenged. Social Cognitive Theory could be utilised in research to develop strategies to increase women’s and midwives’ confidence specifically in initiation.